Ashura Renge'en
Ashura Renge'en is the Queen to the Land of Spring, Head of Royal House Renge'en, High Priestess of Maya and former Princess to the Land of Flames. Background Ashura is the firstborn of the King of Flames Shakka Renge'en and his wife, Sashi. In her early years, the girl was taught in Politics, Geography, Math, Languages, Diplomacy, Philosophy, Sciences and History by the erudict that served House Renge'en, Danzetsu, and in Kenjutsu, Taijutsu and basic Ninjutsu by Kaiba Iwagarashi, her father's General. The princess was born with a rare ability that only showed up from time to time in Renge'en's bloodline, the Third Eye of Maya. Because of that power, her personality was shaped into a peaceful and kind one and the people who got to know her became easily charmed by the charismatic girl. However, her father thought her personality wasn't suited for a ruler, so after a discussion when he told her she was too weak to ever lead the Land of Flames, he stopped talking to her and would constantly shun her out. Her mother, otherwise, became more and more attached to the girl to the point of bringing Ashura to every place she went, because the girl's peaceful nature helped Sashi to keep her unstable mentality under control. At the birth of the Royal Family's second child, Yakusa, Shakka made a public announcement that the baby boy would inherit the throne, not Ashura, and shipped the girl to Jyō Island to train with the Priests of Maya for two years. Ashura did not hold any grudge of the brother for taking her place, in fact, she was a loving sister to him. She just wished her father would be proud of her again, and her failed attempts to attend to his expectations had only frustrated the girl over the years. The Red Night The event known as The Red Night happened when General Kaiba Iwagarashi joined forces with a member of Hogakure's great council to overthow the Renge'en clan and Yondaime Honokage by force. They attacked the Hogakure in a violent strike, causing the deaths of many civilians, nobles and ninjas alike. The episode was only over when the severed heads of the Renge'en clan members - Shakka, Sashi and Yakusa -, Yondaime Honokage Renkishi Ukesora and The Prime Minister Hikaru Renjouji were put on spikes on the Royal Castle's wall and Iwagarashi's troops overthrew the King's loyalists, creating the vicious Honō no Tei Koku, that would wage war against the countries that boarded the Land of Flames for 5 years. Ashura was able to escape the attack due to the efforts of Danzetsu and the kitchen workers, that guided the erudict and the princess through one of the palace's secret passages. The girl had to flee in a hurry after presencing the death of her own family in front of her eyes, remaining in silence for a month while her tutor and her fled to Konohagakure for shelter. They met two survivors of the Renjouji clan in the gates of the capitol of the Land of Fire, being those people the wife of the Prime Minister, Reiju Renjouji, and their daughter Shion, Ashura's childhood friend. After a brief conversation, Reiju said she planned to enroll Shion on the Ninja Academy of the great village, and Ashura also tagged along with the idea. The two girls then followed the path to become ninjas, remaining in Konohagakure for 7 years before they decided to return. The Fire and Ice Riot After an assassin sent by Iwagarashi to kill Ashura, the princess and her friend decided to depart to Honō no Tei Koku to face the demons of their past. She returned to the country along with Danzetsu, Reiju and Shion Renjouji and a ronin, Nanashi, leader of Apex Organization. The group was greeted by a suffering and starving people and a few rebellious members of the shinobi forces of Hogakure and Sakuragakure. After a long conversation to keep the small group into the situation, Ashura and Shion stepped foward to lead the rebel forces. They started their work from gathering civillians underneath the gaze of Empire loyalists to join their cause and soon the rebel army was formed, just waiting for the last assault on the Capitol. That came under Ashura's plan to infiltrate the palace with Shion and assassinate the Emperor straight foward, to prevent as much bloodshed as possible and the immediate surrender of the Imperial Army. The plan backfired because Shion's mother, Reiju, betrayed them and warned Kaiba of their identities. While the military forces clashed against each other in the streets, Ashura took Kaiba on one on one battle at the balcony of the Throne room while Shion rushed to lead the Shinobi forces. In the end, they were victorious, and the event became known as The Ice and Fire Riot. Current Situation After the Riot, Hogakure was crumbling, and in a gesture of respect for the assistance of the shinobi of former Sakuragakure, the city was rebuilt inspired on the old Shinobi Village of the Land of Flowers and took it's name. The ruins of old Sakuragakure are still under the country's control. Another decision was to abolish the name Empire of the Flames, that had caused so much dread and pain, and take another entirely new, Land of Spring, in hope it would become a sign of prosperity and peace. Ashura took the place as Queen of the Land of Spring, which now she rules. Appearance Ashura stands 175cm tall, as the years shaped her to be. Her skinny form is somehow similar to a ballerina's, graceful and with very subtle feminine curves. Some would say childlike, even. But what she lacks in meet on her bones, the young monarch has in beauty. The woman's features are pale, delicate and noble, with bright pitch black tresses that massively fall upon her silhouette until the middle of her thighs, as usually tied in a top ponytail adorned with delicate jewelry. The most exotic traits of the young woman are her warm penetrating eyes, as golden as the jewelry she wears, and the ears, sticking gracefully in pointy edges, elven-like. The woman's classcal attire consists on a silk dress, that is blood red colored on the top and falls in a gradient of fiery colors, a thick belt with Haru no Kuni's crest, golden jewelry and a giban over the whole set, embroided with the symbol of the Royal House Renge'en. Personality Usually formal and proper, Ashura's royal manners tend to create some distance between herself and the others. She is not fond of physical contact, especially the intrusive type. However, it only serves to hide her true persona: Ashura is a sweet young woman, highly respectful and she tends to keep others in high regard, doesn't matter who or what they are. She treats people with kindness, compassion and respect, and is quite taken aback by honest displays of kindness. Her hidden skill, the Third Eye of Maya, allows her to read a person's emotions to figure out their intentions, which shaped her into an empathetic person. She will often thrive to make others feel comfortable and happy, even if it means violation of her own comfort zone. Deep inside, Ashura is a woman with serious abandonment issues and self steem struggles. She often regards herself as undeserving, feeble and weak, but will never display those thoughts out loud. She keeps up a confident mask because she needs to, especially in front of people she percieves as a threat. Loving of her country and people, she only wishes to be a ruler better than her father was. Skills Purity Release Ashura is the only living user of Purity Release, a rare Kekkei Genkai type that belongs to Renge'en Clan. Because of that, she can make her raw chakra take the form of a translucid fire that can appear and be manipulated at will. What makes it different from regular Fire Release is it's ability to absorb and change the nature of chakra that enters in contact with it. It makes Ashura nearly immune to ninjutsu and genjutsu but the strongest ones and absorbs the target's chakra upon touch. Water and Ice release are her weakness, though. They make her spend more chakra to summon and control the flames, depleating her chakra reserves quickly. When Ashura is furious or ready to attack, one can have a glimpse of the Holy flames burning within her eyes. Other abilities linked to the Purity Release are her ability of projecting her flame to a specific place through a seal, being able to watch and summon her flames anywhere within the raidus of 15 metters from the seal. Many seals can be placed at once, and looking into them requires chakra. This technique is used by Ashura to keep a watchful eye on the streets of Sakuragakure, serving as a quick information system that allows her to promply act or send guards should any problem appear. This technique creates a huge overload of information in the brain of the user, and someone that is not used to it can have huge headaches or serious neurological problems. Her flames can also project her voice and can send her images from wherever they are, but projecting a single flame without a seal is a easy way to drain her chakra. Third Eye of Maya Another ability of hers is the Third Eye of Maya, an extrassensorial ability that grants Ashura accurate aura sensoring and the ability to read people' emotions. In full form, it appears as a third eye on her forehead, that's why Ashura ofter covers it with a gem. Ryūtai Tsume Ryūtai Tsume (流体爪 - Fluid Claw) is a style of Taijutsu somewhat similar to the Gentle fist of the Hyūga Clan. Manipulating the Yin-yang chakra through their palm, the user can dispell straight ninjutsu attacks headed their way. The lack of balance between the two main chakra elements disrupts the target's chakra line upon touch, blocking their ability to use chakra for 3 seconds. The touch effects are uneffective against opponents with accurate chakra control. This deadly Taijutsu form is focused on the agility of the user, about foreseeing the opponent's attacks and using their own strenght against them, stricking vital points quickly. Because of the quick nature of this tricky style, heavier people are unable to use it. Ashura learned this fighting style in her ears back in Jyō Island, trainning to become a Priestess of Maya. Haken Ashura was trained with Kaiba Iwagarashi on kenjutsu, especially how to use a Tsurugi-typed sword named Haken, one of the royal symbols of House Renge'en. Although long, the glass-looking blade is light and sturdy, able to harness the fire release chakra of the user and transfer it through the cuts, blasting the enemy's body from inside. Exorcism Being trained as a Priestess, Ashura is able to perform holy ceremonies and exorcise evil spirits. She is also fairly decent with fuinjutsu. Trivia -Her most famous and favourite quote is "A Leader is a slave to their people". She takes it to heart, so it says a lot about her demeanor as a ruler. -Her favourite color is yellow. -She loves canines. Wolves particularly. -Ashura hates cool, ice or anything remotedly linked to low temperatures. Yet she has an Ice wolf familiar. -Sunny and warm days make her happy. -She is kind of a sweetooth and impressively can hold her liquor quite well. -She loves classical instrumental music and is a very good dancer. -Ashura is slightly jealous of women with curvy bodies and big boobs. She seems not to care, but being called a "flat chest" kicks her right in the feels. -She has a bit of pyromaniac tendencies. Her nickname "Ash" fits her well. -Ashura doesn't react to wisecracks nor sarcasm. She simply ignores it. -She is an extremely forgiving person. -She is the type of person that will stop her chores to listen to another person's problems. -She is intrigued by supernatural creatures and often tries to know a bit more about them. -She is apparently a magnet for unconventional people. -Her favourite flower is lily. -Her ears wiggle when she is frustrated, curious, intrigued, happy or embarrassed. They droop when she feels vulnerable, thoughtful or sad. -She hates the name Asura because it's the name of a class of gods that tend to embody wrath, pride, envy, insincerity, falseness, boasting, and bellicosity. So, her name is associated with those traits, even if herself is someone that behaves in the exact opposite way. The reason why she was called like that was because her father wished she were a boy and would become a Conqueror in the future, but Ashura turned out to be more a diplomat than a fighter.